Burial caskets are commonly provided with closable and lockable top lids. The locking system often includes a locking rod which is mounted on the casket body, and which is shifted lengthwise with one of its ends supported in a lock-end tube mounted on and extending through a side wall of the casket body. The rod is shifted by means of a fixed, captured nut into which a portion of the rod is threaded; the end of the rod inside the lock-end tube is provided with a socket into which a crank can be inserted to rotate the rod and thereby move it lengthwise to mate with the end of the rod and turn it. The opposite end of the rod is coupled to a locking bar which is provided with hook-like projections extending therefrom along its length, which enter openings in eyes depending from the casket lid to lock it closed when the bar is shifted longitudinally outwardly by turning of the crank.
When the casket side wall is flat, it is common to employ as the lock-end tube a hollow cylinder having an externally-threaded, reduced-diameter portion and an associated internally-threaded nut; the reduced-diameter portion is inserted through an opening in the casket side wall and the nut is tightened to clamp the portion of the side wall adjacent to the edges of the opening between the nut and the confronting end of the larger-diameter portion of the tube. Before assembly, a gasket can be slipped over the smaller-diameter portion of the tube to assure a good, tight seal when done.
While satisfactory for use on flat casket walls, this system is not satisfactory when the side wall on which it is to be mounted is curved, as is the wall near the end of a round-cornered casket. If applied to such a curved side wall, the opening in the wall will not be adequately closed and sealed by the nut and tube. It has therefore been common in such cases to mount the lock-end tube in an opening through the curved casket side wall by welding it to the surrounding side wall, or by securing it thereto with epoxy cement. This requires a special, time-and-labor intensive step, and results in a final appearance which is unsightly, the lock-end tube and its mounting looking like an afterthought or add-on, rather than an integral part of the casket design.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and useful lock-end tube structure, mountable on a curved wall of a casket, for receiving an end of a reciprocable rod which is part of a casket-lid locking mechanism.
A further object is to provide such a structure which is easily installed, provides a good seal to the curved side wall, and presents a pleasing final appearance.